Post-Reading: Ship Breaker

"You toss your luck in the air and it rattles down on the gambling boards and you either live or die."

To me this quote means that sometimes you just have to see what your luck will give you. You are either lucky and get what you were hoping for or you are unlucky and you don’t. There are many times when people put their fate in luck. For example when you buy a lottery ticket you don’t know if you are going to win or lose, you are seeing how lucky/unlucky you are. Also you sometimes put your fate in other people and it is their choices and decisions that decide what happens to you. For example when you go to court you put your fate in 12 people who know nothing about you and your reasons for doing whatever you did.

In the book Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi the ship breakers (beach rats, ship rats, etc) believe in Fates and luck. They view it as a religion. They give offerings to the Fates so that nothing bad would happen to them and so that they could get lucky. Whenever something happened -good or bad- they say it was because of the Fates. For example when Nailer gets out of the room (which he was trapped in) everyone says that the Fates were on his side and some even give him gifts so that they can be close to Fates. Another example of how the quote applies to the book is found on page 86 and 87. “The captain hadn't been lucky. And now Nailer and Pima were flush because of it.” Nailer and Pima find a downed clipper ship. While scavenging the ship for anything light they find the body of the captain. Nailer realizes that the captains bad luck is his good luck. I think that their is almost always a trade. Your good luck is someone else’s bad luck. Another example is when Nailer is stuck in the room filled with oil. Nailer decides that trying to escape is better than dying without trying. When he goes under to try and open the door he is putting his fate in luck.  

In conclusion this quote doesn’t just apply to the book, it applies to real life too. There are many instances when this happens. For example when you do something dangerous. Yes, when you do something dangerous it is because you know how to do it and are depending on your skill and whatever equipment you have, but your luck decides whether it is successful or not. Examples of this quote are shown all throughout the book, from the beginning to the end. Nailer and all the other ship breakers see Fates as their religion, and luck is a big part of how they live.

Human Nature Essay

Human Nature Essay

Are humans naturally good or naturally evil? Humans can be both, but what matters is what they decide to be. Some people believe humans are naturally bad while others believe they are naturally good. The thing is though that one can’t exist without the other, as Jessica Shirvington says “maybe it’s not as clear-cut as that. Maybe it’s the very presence of one thing – light or darkness – that necessitates the existence of the other. Think about it, people couldn’t become legendary heroes if they hadn’t first done something to combat darkness. Doctors could do no good if there weren’t diseases for them to treat.” There are many great points that could argue either side, but the truth is that people are naturally good.

People fight for others rights and freedoms, sometimes no matter the costs. For example Cesar Chavez fought for fair pay and treatment, like breaks and bathrooms in the fields, for immigrants working in the fields in California. He did this through protest, and boycotting. Another person who fought for people's rights was Martin Luther King Jr. He fought for the end of segregation and racial discrimination in America, and many other rights that had been taken from blacks, like the right to vote. He did this through protest, marches, speeches, and boycotting. He was killed for what doing what he believed was right. So many others have stood up for people’s rights like Malala, Mahatma Gandhi, etc. Also so many have lost their lives for standing up for others like Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King Jr., Medgar Evers... Others have been imprisoned or shot (but not killed) like Malala Yousafzai, Nelson Mandela, Russell Maroon Shoatz, and many more.

Some people not only fight for others, but they also put others lives before their own. For example soldiers put their lives on the line and go through traumatic events to protect not only their country but their family and friends. Another example can be found in the book Insurgent. The main character, Tris, gives herself up to Erudite so that no more innocent people would die at the hands of Jeanine Matthews. Also in the book Cured Kevin volunteers to take Jacqui’s place in the throat- ripping experiment so that Jacqui would live, even though he knew he didn’t even have a chance of surviving against the dogs injected with the bee virus to make them more violent.

Some people make sure others are well before even considering themselves. For example in Night, Elie’s uncle brings him a ration of food to make sure that he stayed strong. Another example is in the book Cured when Jacqui gives Kevin a cup of applesauce because she sees that he is starving although that is probably the last cup they have.

So many people have stood up for others and put others before them. Everyone looks at the negative side of things. Like how the only reason all those great people who have or are standing up for others is because of the people who were evil enough to put others in that situation. There are so many evil people in the world but there are also so many good people in it to. People are bad because of something bad that has happened to them or because of a situational force like Philip Zimbardo said “the line between good and evil is permeable and almost everyone can be induced to cross it when pressured by situational forces.” Most people do things because they believe it is right. Islamic extremist believe that it is right because they think that they are doing what their religion tells them to. So remember there is always a reason for someone being evil, people are not just naturally evil, humans are naturally good.

Pre-Reading: Ship Breaker

     I think it is better to be smart because your luck will eventually run out. If you are smart you can get things by earning/working for them instead of just getting lucky. If you are lucky you could win the lottery, but if you are smart you could find a way to earn the same amount of money as if you had won the lottery. The thing with luck is that it could fail you at any moment, while if you are smart that will never fail. Luck only gets you so far before it leaves you in the gutter and goes to someone else. While if you are smart you can create your own luck.
     If you are very smart but very unlucky, you come across problems/obstacles in your life. Things could go wrong for you a lot, but if you are smart you can take the advantage of the things that go wrong and disasters could be reduced. While if you are lucky you could get by really well in life. You could jump from success to success with no effort from you. Things would seem very easy and you probably wouldn't realize how good you have it. It would be an easy life, full of ignorance, and bliss and it would be a pointless life. That is why I think it is better to be smart than to be lucky. 
     I think it is better to be smart than to be luck, because on a test you would know the answers instead of relying on luck to get them all right. If you are going to give a speech, you would prepare and practice for it instead of depending on your luck for it to go smoothly. Also being smart is better because:  "knowledge is power."
     In conclusion being smart is better and more reliable than being lucky. Although I think it would be better to be both lucky and smart. If you are both lucky and smart you can gain a lot more out of what your luck gives you. Also if your luck runs out, you won't be left empty-handed and you can keep gaining something out of what your luck has given you.